Shuttleworth starts out by making a bold statement that we can expect Ubuntu to be shipping on millions of devices by next year, thus setting the bar very high for Ubuntu in order to compete with the major players, Microsoft and Apple.

Goals of Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope

Mark also lays out two specific goals that Jaunty Jackalope will have. The first being faster boot time and faster resume time. I really think this is a great area for Ubuntu 9.04 to address. Boot time can certainly be improved and would make the experience of Ubuntu that much better. The second goal will be to work towards blurring web services and desktop applications. “Is it a deer? Is it a bunny? Or is it a weblication – a desktop application that seamlessly integrates the web!”

This release looks promising and I really can’t wait to start testing the beta versions.

As for now, Ubuntu 8.10 is scheduled to be released next month, so I’m looking forward to the Intrepid Ibex for now.